Dana Alliance Members

More than 280 neuroscientists comprise the Alliance membership, joined by the common interest in advancing public awareness about brain research. Recognized as leaders in their respective fields, they are among the world’s foremost authorities on neuroscientific research and clinical neurology topics.  Each has made a personal commitment to support the mission of the Dana Alliance through active participation in outreach and educational activities. Among the current members, 10 have received the Nobel Prize.

The Executive Committee of the Dana Alliance directs and guides the operations and activities of the organization in pursuit of its mission.

current list of members is available here.

 

Alliance Member Joanne Berger-Sweeney Named Dean of Arts and Sciences at Tufts

Tufts Univesity has named Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Ph.D., M.P.H., as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences effective, August 23, 2010. Berger-Sweeney was the Allene Lummis Russell Professor in Neuroscience at Wellesley College and was named Associate Dean there in 2004.  She is widely recognized for her efforts to increase diversity in the biological sciences.    

In Memoriam: Fred Pum, M.D. 

Fred Plum, M.D. passed away in New York on June 11, 2010. Dr. Plum was University Professor, Emeritus, Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He was a founding member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and served on the Dana Alliance Executive Committee.     

 

Alliance Members Receive Special Awards, Honors, and Prizes

Announced June 2, 2010 - Thomas C. Südhof, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine will share the 2010 Kavli Prize with Drs. Richard Scheller, Gentech, and James Rothman, Yale University for discovering the molecular basis of signal transfer between nerve cells in the brain. 

William A. Catterall, Ph.D., University of Washington School of Medicine received the 2010 Canada Gairdner International Award

Harry T. Chugani, M.D., Children’s Hospital of Michigan was elected President of the International Child Neurology Association for term 2010-2014. Inauguration was held in Cairo, Egypt, May 2010

Fred H. Gage, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies was elected to the American Philosophical Society

Stephen L. Hauser, M.D., appointed by President Obama as Member of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Thomas M. Jessell, Ph.D. and Eric R. Kandel, M.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons received the SfN’s 2009 Award for Education in Neuroscience for their textbook Principles of Neural Science. Dr. Jessell also won the W. Maxwell Cowan Award from the Cajal Club.

Patricia K. Kuhl, Ph.D., University of Washington, Terrence J. Sejnowski, Ph.D., the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Larry W. Swanson, Ph.D., University of Sothern California, Los Angeles and EDAB members Prof. Stanislas Dehaene, National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Paris and Prof. Sten Grillner, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Michael I. Posner, M.S., Ph.D., University of Oregon received an honorary degree from the University of Buenos Aires college of Science on March 18.

Richard C. Mohs, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company was named as one of the “10 most Notable People in R and D” for 2010, by R and D Directions Magazine.

Carla J. Shatz, Ph.D., BioX, Stanford University received an honorary degree from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson School of Biological Sciences.

Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons received the William Salmon Award from the New York Academy of Medicine for her research in December 2009.

 

Members' News and Views

Joseph LeDoux Blogs About His Music for Scientific American Online
On the occasion of the release of his new CD, "Theory of My Mind," Scientific American online published an article by Joe LeDoux, Ph.D. about the CD, his band, and his life-long love of pop/rock music. [0ff-site link] You can also find video interviews and a live performance by LeDoux at Bigthink.com [off-site link] 

UT-Medical School at Houston "Understanding the Brain" 
John H. Byrne, Ph.D. is featured in Houston Chronicle article which talks about his research, career path, and outreach efforts. [off-site link]  

Magnetic Brain Scans Become More Attractive
A new study based on research by Apostolos Georgopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. appearing in the Journal of Neural Engineering suggests that magnetoencephalography (MEG) can identify the vast majority of people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Celebrating Eric Kandel at 80
Columbia University celebrated the 80th birthday of Nobel Laureate neuroscientist Eric Kandel with a daylong symposium on November 20.  Seventeen colleagues and form students gave addresses describing how Kandel's work on brain function inspired their own research on topics ranging from the emotions of mice to the neuronal underpinning of moral thought.  PBS talk-show host Charlie Rose, with whom Kandel is currently cohosting a yearlong series of special episodes on the brain, emceed a dinner.  Watch a video interview with Kandel [off-site link]

Alzheimer’s and Dementia in Minority Populations 
Unraveling Risks, Overcoming Barriers
An Interview with Patrick A. Griffith, M.D.

New Dana Press Book: Treating the Brain: What the Best Doctors Know
Even in this information age, people dealing with often-serious neurological problems face the daunting task of finding accurate, credible and understandable information—the essential medical fact. Using case histories as examples, Walter G. Bradley explains the neurological examinations, tests, clinical features, causes and treatments available for Alzheimer’s disease, migraines, stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and other frequently diagnosed neurological disorders.

New York Times Book Review: 'Nothing Was the Same' 
Kay Redfield Jamison, who discussed her own manic depression in “An Unquiet Mind” revisits her husband’s death from cancer. [off-site link]

How Robots Could Transform the Classroom
Read about Machine Learning and the Transformation of Education in a Q&A with Terrence J. Sejnowski, Ph.D.

Music and the Brain Podcasts
Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., served as project chair on the Library of Congress series Music and the Brain." Podcasts are now available featuring performances, lectures and conversations with leading scientists, scholars, composers, performers and other experts. This series was partially funded by the Dana Foundation. [off-site link]

Neuroaesthetics and Neuroeducation Move Forward, Together
In his Brain in the News column, Guy M. McKhann, M.D. writes that there is growing interaction between experts in neuroscience and those in the arts, an amalgamation sometimes referred to as neuroaesthetics."

New BWH Study Finds Protein Fragments Can Disrput Memory
Dennis Selkoe, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and medical student Ganesh Shankar, Ph.D., published research that helps scientists understand the events that lead to a person developing Alzheimer's disease. [PDF, Selkoe photo page 2]

A Biology of Mental Disorder
Dana Alliance Vice Chairman Eric Kandel writes in Newsweek this week of his optimism that the next 10 to 20 years will be more fruitful for neuroscience than the past two decades have been. [off-site link]

Illuminating genius: insights from science and the arts
Nancy C. Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D., blogs on the importance of providing students with a "liberal education" that combines the study of the arts and the sciences.

Findings Should Help Scientists and Educators Join Forces 
Guy M. McKhann, M.D., writes about neuroeducation and the need for a new type of transition person who can bridge the education and cognitive neuroscience fields.

Why the Arts Matter
Jerome Kagan, Ph.D., Gives Six Good Reasons for Advocating the Importance of Arts in School.

First Lessons from My Personal Genome
Remarks by James D. Watson, Ph.D., Nobel Prize winner and Vice Chairman of the Dana Alliance, on receiving a Double Helix Award.